The Best Escape Rooms in the Country

They’re so crazy and fun you may want to stay trapped in them.

America loves a good fad, and in 2016, escape rooms joined laser tag and vintage arcades as the group night out trend of the moment. These rooms are filled with hidden riddles that you and your friends unlock in an attempt to earn the keys to escape. With the increasing competition among escape room companies, rooms are being created with increasingly complex riddles and cool themes. Some of them are not only fine puzzles, but works of art, too. Let’s take a look at who is creating rooms that provide an experience you almost don’t want to leave.

Mission Escape Atlanta

Whether you decide to infiltrate the home of a wealthy playboy to orchestrate a jewel heist, or you venture into an aging hotel to solve the secret of a restless spirit, there is no wrong choice at Mission Escape Atlanta. Its two rooms are known for their detailed stories and challenging clues. “The Study” attempts to recreate the classic feel of jewel heist films, while “The Hotel” takes none other than Wes Anderson’s Grand Budapest Hotel for inspiration in a mission to avoid becoming a “forever guest” at the Grandjestic Atlantan. After reading one of the many glowing reviews of the place, it’s easy to see why this place has a nearly perfect score on Yelp.

Palace Games, San Francisco

With two marquee games steeped in history, Palace Games offers some of the most immersive escape room experiences in the country. One room, based on the history of Harry Houdini, name-checks a number of other geniuses from the era of invention and stretches the limits of your problem-solving while drilling down into a specific moment in history. Palace games has also launched a follow-up to the Houdini room focused on Teddy Roosevelt. Both rooms are renowned for their high level of difficulty, steampunk themes, and meticulous, immersive construction.

Breakout Kansas City

A quick look at Breakout’s website shows you why this is one of the top rated escape rooms in the country. Each of the half-dozen scenarios stand out as unique and intriguing from their mere description. A crooked casino, political intrigue during the Truman campaign, and an underground adventure focused on an eccentric doctor are just a few of Breakout’s scenarios. Some of the setups sound a bit odd, but guests report that means you’re in for a one-of-a-kind escape experience.

Austin Panic Room

Combining the best aspects of haunted houses and escape rooms, the Austin Panic Rooms are some of the most beloved and most spine-tingling escape room experiences in the U.S. With themes including “Prison Break,” “Cabin Fever,” “Abandoned School,” and “Human Trials,” you can pick the perfect scenario of your nightmares. Full of dark hallways and cramped quarters, Austin Panic Rooms are designed to add a dose of fear to your curiousity. Good news for those who live elsewhere in the great state of Texas, this company has opened Dallas and Houston locations as well!

Maze Rooms Los Angeles

Boasting numerous rooms across Los Angeles, Maze Rooms offers customers indulgence in almost any childhood backyard fantasy you could think of. Whether you want to make your way through Medieval dungeons, the hangouts of Cold War spies, or lunar modules, Maze Rooms L.A. has you covered. With 19 different escape rooms currently on their roster, and more always in development, you can handpick a perfect world to flee.

published on January 7, 2017

Brenden Gallagher

Brenden Gallagher works in television and writing in Los Angeles. He worked on Revenge, Heartbeat, and Famous in Love. His writing has appeared at Complex, VH1, and MERRY JANE. Follow him on Twitter @muddycreekU